By Choice, Not Chance: The Red War
by ladyawesomesauce
Summary: -"It is by choice, not chance, that defines one's destiny. What path will you choose?" She thought about this for a moment. "The one that leaves me with no regrets."- The narrative journey of Sianna, one of the Traveler's chosen, beginning with the Red War and following her through her adventures and trials as a Guardian.
1. Connected

There are stories of great Guardians that are passed down through generations. The Iron Lords, who were a beacon of hope in a grim time of tyrannical Risen. Tales of the heroes at the Battle of Six Fronts, where the Fallen who attempted to invade the Last City in its infancy were met with devastating defeat. Or the miracle victory at Twilight Gap, where one man's decision to hold his team's position against orders saved the lives of hundreds.

Names like Lord Saladin, Lord Shaxx, Osiris, Saint-14, Zavala, Ana Bray, Ikora Rey, Andal Brask and Cayde-6 are only a few among the stories told. And when all these heroes had carved out their own slice of history, it still found room for more. The City that had become a haven for humanity was on its last legs, and it needed a new legend to bring it further.

This legend would be known by many names after they were first resurrected: Lord Guardian, Godslayer, Hero of the Red War, Avenger, Nightmare of Nightmares… But like all heroes, they started simply as a person, given a second chance to make a difference.

Her name was Sianna… and this was her destiny.

* * *

**"Connected"**

_Cosmodrome, Old Russia, Earth – Hundreds of Years After the Collapse_

A Ghost was not a mechanical drone, exactly, nor was it a biological being. It was a creation of the Traveler – a bit of its Light wrapped in a shell, like a smaller version of the thing that begat it. It had free will and a directive. To search humanity's long-dead for someone worthy of the gift they held, the gift of a second life through resurrection. In return, the one they chose would fight for the Light, and for the last of humanity that was left after the Collapse.

He was a Ghost that did not stand out much. Being simple and grey, he was able to blend among the snow and crumbled concrete that was now the landscape of Old Russia. He flit between rusted out and decaying vehicles of humanity's past, scanning the seemingly empty cabs with his blue optical lens. Each scan turned up nothing for him. He wondered lightly if he was being too picky, even after all of these years. But he wanted to be sure, very sure of who he chose.

Winds buffeted his shell, but he ignored the potential distraction. Earth still had many places to search, so he continued along the ancient road with its pileup of cars, scanning one every so often. His wielder of Light was out there… somewhere. Yet with every fruitless scan, the hopelessness he felt grew by the smallest bit.

Ghost rose over a low hill created by cracked and upended concrete. On a whim, he scanned an area next to a mostly intact but rusted out vehicle. There was a spark there… in the scatterings of remains that sat against the car's wheel well.

"Is it possible?" he asked himself. His shell split apart, rotating on a thin sphere of Light. His voice brightened.

"There you are." He pulled his shell back together with a snap, forcing a beam of light from his eye onto the spark he found. A body formed around it. The person shuddered with its first breath of new life.

* * *

At first, she saw only darkness around her. She was barely aware that she even had eyes to see the nothingness. A bloom of light and color began to chase away the blackness. The scene surrounding came into focus; dirt and dust blew past her on winds that rustled her hair and tickled her neck. All these new senses barraged her with information. She began to try to piece together her existence. She did not know how, or why she was here. She simply knew that she just _was. _ A voice spoke. She could hear it, somewhere above her.

"Guardian… Guardian? Eyes up, Guardian!"

She lifted her head and eyes as directed, finding a strange object floating in front of her.

"It worked… You're alive!" It seemed to be as marveled with her existence as she was.

"You don't know how long I've been looking for you." it continued. Its eye looked out to the side, as though in thought.

"I am a Ghost. Actually, now I'm _your_ Ghost. And you… Well, you've been dead a long time. So you're going to see a lot of things you won't understand."

Her hands clasped and unclasped as blood and sense worked into them. Dead? Her Ghost? Whatever this… 'ghost' was, it had one thing right. She did not understand. She only knew that she now existed. She had a body, a mind, a soul. Slowly but surely she began to accept what was going on. It did not matter how, or why. She was simply here.

* * *

Ghost was amazed at what he saw. Kneeling among the dirt and debris and nature was a Guardian. _His _Guardian. He flew closer to her, getting a good look while doing his best to explain what was going on.

She was an Awoken, sporting the traditional pale blue skin of her people, with a head of blue hair to match. She looked up when he called out to her, revealing stunningly vibrant orange eyes. She had a decorative mark between those piercing eyes, slightly darker than her skin, reaching almost to the end of her nose and dotting her forehead. Ghost thought she was beautiful.

He was about to continue to explain to his Guardian her role in the world, but a roar sounded off and echoed around them. He turned to where the sound originated, his shell twisting back in forth as he surveyed the area. There was no more time. This new life had to be protected. He spun back to face his Guardian. She still knelt where she was resurrected.

"This is Fallen territory. We aren't safe here. I have to get you to the City." He flew around the area, searching for any nearby enemies. Seeing none in the immediate vicinity, he returned to her.

"Hold still."

* * *

She watched the Ghost as he circled the area, finally returning to her. She was not sure why his creating distance between them made her uneasy, but she felt relief when he came back.

"Hold still." She heard him say, and she obliged, sitting perfectly still and observing as the Ghost flew directly at her chest, disappearing within her. She let out a short gasp. The action was not painful, however. Quite the opposite, she found. She felt… complete.

"Don't worry, I'm still with you. We need to move, fast." his voice reverberated within her.

"We won't survive long out in the open like this. Let's get inside the wall."

She looked over to her right, directed by an unknown force. She broke out into a run toward the open gate within the dilapidated wall that stood there. Behind her, there were more roars that sounded like they were getting closer. She made it inside the opening, breathing hard from her sprint.

"Ok… I need to find you a weapon before the Fallen find us."

The Ghost directed her up some stairs and across a walkway. She walked swiftly, blindly following his instruction. Noises that sounded like dozens of drumming feet resounded in the rafters of the area she found herself in. She froze.

"Quiet. They're right above us." Ghost whispered. His Guardian held her breath as the sounds died away. When she was given the signal, she kept moving forward, hoping to quickly close the distance between herself and protection. The walkway led to another set of stairs that opened into a hollow and dark room. Ghost separated himself from her, casting a small amount of light around them.

"Hang tight," he said, floating deeper into the room. "Fallen thrive in the dark. We won't. We need more light. I'll see what I can do."

For the first time since being resurrected, she did not do exactly as she was told and instead followed the tiny floating light until she reached an edge. The Ghost's light illuminated century-old pipes within the warehouse. His voice echoed around the almost empty space.

"Another one of these hardened military systems… And a few centuries of entropy working against me."

She watched as he disappeared behind another wall, drenching the space in darkness once again. A small light flickered at her feet, so she stayed rooted to the spot, listening to the sounds of the Ghost muttering to himself. Seconds later, overhead lights began to hum to life, giving light to the space once again. Dozens of unfamiliar creatures crawled along the pipes, chittering and calling out to each other as she was revealed to them. She saw the Ghost speeding from the area to which he had disappeared, followed by two other flying objects.

"They're coming for us!" he yelled, flying up to a slightly opened gate.

"Here! I found a rifle. Grab it."

She slid under the gate and snatched the gun. The Ghost shut the gate behind them, giving them some time to breathe. Noticing a slight look of apprehension on his Guardian's face, he decided to merge with her once again.

"You're doing great. Let's keep moving, ok?" he reassured her.

* * *

"This was an old Cosmodrome. There's got to be something we can fly out here."

They had emerged from the other side of the wall into a sprawling expanse of ancient structures and broken-down ships. The new Guardian gazed around the area, taking in the landscape. Sleek ships were stacked against towers that led to stacked spheres. Many of these same ships lined the area. Later, she would be told the story of the Cosmodrome, of its purpose during the Golden Age. All those ships were meant to take Humanity to new homes among the stars.

In the distance, a red signal flare cut through the sky. Beside it, a ship that was unlike the ones that littered the ground materialized.

"Incoming!" Ghost shouted. They ran from the sight of the ship, choosing to avoid any confrontation, if possible.

"Fallen ships! This close to the surface?!"

She stopped briefly to catch her breath, not noticing the ships that were quickly approaching.

"Move!"

Something unknown pulled her forward, forcing her to run once more away from the ships. She could not outrun the Fallen that they dropped. The creatures advanced with arcing swords and guns.

"You're going to have to fight them off. I'll heal you when I can. You can do this."

She raised the gun in her hand and pointed it at the quickest approaching four-armed being, and pulled the trigger. Several shots pelted its body, sending it to the ground. She aimed at the next, dispatching it just as easily.

"Three o'clock, two Vandals! They have swords – watch out!"

The Guardian turned to her right, finding the aforementioned Vandals almost upon her. She sprayed them with bullets, but they were quick enough to land a few slices from their blades. Crying out in pain, she forcefully struck one in what she thought was the face with the butt of her gun, sending it to the ground. Not stopping to think about whether it was dead or not, she faced the next one and pulled her trigger again. Gases hissed from the holes that the bullets drilled into the creature and it, too, collapsed.

She took this opportunity to hobble away as fast as she could. She could barely hear the Ghost's voice through the sound of her blood pumping in her ears. He was yelling for her to stop.

"You're going to bleed out if you move too much more." he reasoned. She stumbled to a stop, heaving with pain. A pool of shimmering light formed under her feet and threads of light rose around her. They covered her bloody wounds, stitching the openings closed and easing the pain away. She looked first at the amazing power, then around, trying to find the source. Ghost circled around her, his shell open and spinning around his own light. He was healing her from what he was sure was the brink of death. When the job was done, the pool of light faded and Ghost reconnected.

His Guardian checked herself all over, touching the spots that had been cut and healed by the Ghost. When she met his gaze again, she was smiling. She may not have spoken a word to him since he brought her back to life, but this gentle smile was thanks enough, for now.

"Come on, just a little further." Ghost led the way through the building adjacent to them, taking the two further into the Cosmodrone.

* * *

They quietly walked through the building, Guardian following Ghost as they turned corner after corner. After a few moments, Ghost spoke up.

"I'm picking up signs of an old jumpship. Could be our ticket out of here."

He pointed out a doorway for her to cross, then directed her around two more corners until they came into a run-down hangar. Hanging from cables at the roof of the hangar was the object of their search.

"There's a ship! Clear them out!"

The 'them' were Fallen who were clamoring on the top of the ship. Their heads turned when they heard Ghost, and they let out roars of defiance to the intrusion. The Guardian was prepared for a fight, this time, and dispatched two of the smaller enemies with ease. More Vandals tried to flank her, but she was able to jump away before they could harm her. She fired an entire clip at the enemies, sending them down or running.

"You have a grenade," Ghost said. "Reach into the pouch at your side."

She listened, plunging her hand into the pouch and finding a round object resting within. She pulled out the device.

"Throw it at the enemies, but don't get too close. It's made from your power, but it can still hurt you."

She waited for the right moment when a throng of the Fallen had grouped up to get the jump on her. The grenade left her hand and landed squarely in the body of the lead Fallen. It shrieked and writhed while the others, entranced, gazed at the fiery glow it emitted. The grenade beeped twice, then erupted into flames and engulfed the whole party. Now all that was left was the 'Captain', as the Ghost identified it. This creature stood taller than the others and was protected by a blue shield that seemed to eat her bullets.

The Fallen Captain laughed at her attempts to take down his shield and began to launch his own counterattack. It fired several shots in quick succession. She sidestepped one round, only to step too close to a new group of the smaller creatures. They opened fire before she could take cover. Her frantic cries of pain and the Ghost's attempts to calm her were drowned out by the Fallen's shouts.

The Guardian crumpled to the ground. Her first death in this second life.

* * *

In the moment after her world went dark, she saw a pair of faces that she both recognized and did not remember. She could not make out the features, yet they felt… familiar. Voices called out a name. She wanted to answer them, but her own voice did not work.

_Don't leave me again, _she wanted to yell. _Don't-_…

She reached out to them and they disappeared in a flash of bright light. When she blinked again, she was back in the Cosmodrone, sitting where she fell.

* * *

"The first time they die after you originally find them will be scary. For both of you. Just rez them again, and they should get the point after that."

This was advice that a fellow Ghost, Miso, had given him long ago. Miso was right. When he saw her drop, he was afraid, for a moment, that he would not be able to bring her back again. The Fallen that had killed her moved on, thinking that their troubles were gone. They did not see the Ghost rise from the body, prepared to fulfill his second purpose. Guardians were immortal as long as their Ghosts were around. With shell open, Ghost fired a beam of light once again upon the remains.

The woman sat up with a gasp; brought back to life, once again, by the Light. Ghost quickly returned within her, firing off instructions to help her survive this time. Her panicked heartbeat slowed when she felt them reconnect.

"I'll always be here to bring you back, okay?" Ghost said gently.

She nodded. So that was the flash of light she saw.

"That captain's shield won't be there forever. Focus your fire on him and he won't stand a chance." he continued.

The Guardian reloaded her weapon and fired it again at the group. Taken by surprise, they lost a couple of their number to her advance. Keeping the Ghost's suggestion in mind, she continuously pelted the Captain with as much as she could, eventually lobbing another grenade at him and a few of his underlings. It detonated at their feet, sending them all flying back, finally defeated.

A sigh resonated from both Ghost and Guardian. The area was clear.

"All right. Let me see if I can get us out of here."

Ghost flew to the ship, scanning it in several places.

"It's been here a while. Hasn't made a jump in centuries. We're lucky the Fallen haven't completely picked it clean."

"Will it fly?"

The Ghost spun to face his Guardian. She had spoken to him for the first time.

"I can make it work." he said smugly and promptly disappeared inside the jumpship.

The vessel rumbled, lights flickered on at the cockpit, and the engines began to spin to life. The ship tiltted forward, pulling itself free of the cables that held it in place. She watched in amazement at his ability to get the old thing running.

"Okay…" The Ghost's voice was projected from the ship's communications. "It's not going to break orbit, but it just might get us to the Last City. Now – about that transmat…"

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant by 'transmat' when she heard the distinct sound of the same enemies they had been fighting behind her. Fallen were crawling out of a hole in the wall, preparing to attack the prone Guardian.

"Bringing you in!"

Her body dissolved from the spot it stood, reforming in the pilot seat of the ship. When he knew that she was safely inside, Ghost revved the ship's engines and lifted it higher in the air, driving it through the opening in the hangar ceiling. She looked down at the Fallen that were growing steadily smaller.

"We can come back for them when you're ready. Let's get you home."

* * *

"Since we are just traveling the atmosphere, I should be able to pilot us until you can see Amanda Holliday for a bit of a lesson. It'll take a little while to get to the Last City, so get settled."

The Guardian traced her fingers over the aged controls of the ship – not hard enough to depress them, but enough to get the sense of them. After getting her fill of them, she leaned back in the chair and watched Ghost use a beam of light to manipulate the ship into smooth flight. Satisfied that they would not crash and burn, he faced the woman.

"I never got the chance to ask you, but… Do you have a name?" he asked. She fixed him with her orange eyes for a moment, then looked down at her hands. Her brows furrowed together, and Ghost wondered if he had asked too soon.

"Sianna."

It was the name that the unknown voices were calling in the space between when the Fallen had killed her and when she was brought back. She could remember it being a fitting name, for some reason.

"Sianna." Ghost repeated. "That's a lovely name."

He noticed her looking at him expectantly.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you have a name, or is your name Ghost?"

Her voice was low and melodic, as graceful as the rest of her Awoken features. She asked the question almost like a child would, with soft wonder at learning new things. Ghost's shell twisted in thought.

"'Ghost' is just what we are called… many of us are given names by our Guardians. You can call me whatever you choose."

Sianna's lips quirked up. She held out her hands to him. Ghost guessed she wanted him to come closer. He listed on her blue palms. Her gentleness reassured him. So far, his resurrection of Sianna was going better than Sundance's of her own Guardian.

"Valo." Sianna said.

"Huh?"

"Your name. Valo. One who is Light."

"Valo." He tried it for himself. "Thank you, Sianna. It's a wonderful name."

Sianna and Valo. Though they would be called much more, in the future they could not see, Ghost and Guardian were content with what they were in this beginning. It was just enough, to be completed.


	2. Invasion

_In only a few years of her new life, Sianna had grown to be an exceptional Guardian. She had helped to quell the threat of the time-manipulating species known as the Vex. She killed the Hive prince Crota and avenged the Guardians he had destroyed. When Oryx, the Taken King, had come to set his reign of terror on those who were the instrument in his son's death, Sianna was there to fight him._

_With every threat, Sianna found herself at the frontlines. With her help, there was peace, for a time. But it would not be long before a new threat would arrive._

* * *

**"Invasion"**

The Last City was just that – the last safe haven of humanity, nestled under the shadow of the Traveler, where it finally came to a rest after its sacrifice against the darkness. Once only a small camp that became the home of the early Guardians and those races that were somehow spared by the Collapse, the location had now grown to a sprawling mecca. Places that were once shacks became multi-storied buildings rising from the City center, spreading out into smaller buildings, with roads and alleys for foot traffic between. There were markets, residences, and schools... It may not have been as grand as what could have been created during the Golden Age, but it was home.

And this home needed to be protected. To that extent, an impressive wall had been built around the blossoming City. Many legendary Guardians lent their hands to the construction to the wall, which also featured several towers built within it. These towers could be used by those same Guardians to watch for any danger. The combination of the wall and the towers proved to help humanity's chances. For a time. After some centuries, the wall still stood, but there was only one operating tower.

The Guardians lived in the Tower, and from there, they stood as humanity's last defense.

* * *

_Tower Watch, The Last City_

An intense thunderstorm had been blanketing the Last City for hours now. Power flickered on and off in the less inhabited edges, forcing residents to seek shelter from the elements farther inward. Some grumbled about how the fluctuations were interrupting the live broadcast of the latest Crucible match. This made betting on their top Guardian team difficult. Beyond this; however, many residents went about their evening peacefully under the watchful gaze of the Tower.

Lightning struck a space outside the City walls, briefly illuminating the Vanguard Command Center and glinting off of Commander Zavala's smartly polished armor. The Titan stood tall and proud with his smooth, pale blue-skinned head lifted and chin jutting perpendicular to the floor. Intense clear blue eyes that were common among his Awoken race stared through large open windows. He gazed over the hazy horizon, unable to see the mountain range that lay just beyond. Unlike the residents below, Zavala watched this storm with apprehension.

Around the Command center, civilian personnel darted this way and that, studying data and running errands for the Guardians. Between the storm and the buzz caused by constant chatter between workers, there was a general feeling of intensity that was ready to flash out like thunderbolts.

Ikora Rey stood by the communications center, positioned on a raised platform to Zavala's left. She was mulling over a telemetry pad with her Ghost and directing the citizen workers to gather information she needed. She was a human Warlock who, on the outside, did not appear to be the fabled powerhouse capable of beating Lord Shaxx at his own game of Crucible. Her velvety purple robes swished over brown leggings and boots as she paced the small area. A typically resigned appearance now pulled a face over the pad in her hands. One worker approached with a fresh pad. She offered it to the Vanguard with a bow.

"Lady Ikora, the latest data has arrived."

"Thank you, Adelaide." Ikora took the new telemetry pad after depositing the old one on the console beside her. At the entrance to the Command Center, the double doors swished open. For a moment, the sound of other Guardians milling around filtered into the room and was cut off as the doors snapped shut again. A few workers who were by the entrance nodded a greeting to the newcomer. His yellow boots stepped lively and a metallic blue horn cut an arc in the air as he glanced around the busy scene. Electric blue eyes found Ikora, walking back and forth over the communications sector.

"Ikora, if you tell me this is some sort of a practical joke…" Cayde-6 swaggered into the room and up to his usual spot at the large table in the middle.

"Well, it kills me to say it, but I - I would be impressed."

Ikora smirked at him.

"Impressing you, Cayde, is the easiest thing I'll do all day."

"Let's get serious, people." Zavala said. He turned away from the panoramic windows to face both the Warlock and Hunter Vanguard leaders.

"Zavala. This is my serious face. Can't you tell?" Cayde pouted.

"Ikora, what have you got?" Zavala directed his attention to the woman.

"Someone or something has sabotaged the skyline defense system." She answered. Her eyes scanned the pad in her hands, studying the data intently.

"And comms have been spotty for the past few hours. Every sensor beyond the wall has gone dark." Cayde approached his own console and pulled up his curated collection of reports to display for the others. Zavala faced the windows, as if he expected to see the solution to the anomalies somewhere in the dark grey mass of clouds.

"Maybe it's just the storm. Maybe it's…" Zavala tapered off. "What are the sat feeds telling us?"

"Nothing." Ikora said.

"Well, that's good, right?" Cayde asked in a hopeful tone.

"No! I mean they're not there. There are no satellites!"

Several crewmembers exchanged looks of uncertainty at Ikora's revelation. No satellites and dark sensors meant no eyes on the wilds surrounding the Last City. It meant no warnings of upcoming danger. Some whispered to each other, wondering how the lead Guardians would proceed.

"And that's… not good." Cayde remarked. He looked between Ikora, who still furiously swept her finger across the telemetry pad, searching for any sort of signal, and Zavala, finding that the Titan had moved even closer to the windows that would have offered the best view of the world beyond the Last City. Another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Its reverberating light revealed a shocking scene.

Hundreds of Cabal Warships surrounded the Tower, advancing with rumbling engines that resembled thunderous booms. Their weapons glowed bright in preparation for an attack. Zavala wheeled around.

"Battlestations!" He bellowed.

There was abrupt chaos as the crewmembers scattered away from the windows and to new consoles next to the Vanguard table. Most did not make it fast enough. When the blasts erupted from the Cabal ships and rocketed into the Tower, several workers had been blown from their posts. Cayde and Ikora rushed to their aid, checking for survivors. More shots caused a line of explosions in the communications sector, sending more crew members running.

"Everyone on me - now!" Zavala cried over the noise. He reached his arms out to his sides, forcing out a bubble of purple energy around himself and those who had been lucky enough to be nearby.

Cayde-6 reached up, summoning a flaming golden gun that covered his whole body in an orange glow. He aimed at the oncoming ships, firing two shots of his 'Golden Gun' before being t-boned by Ikora. She had warped to him and pulled him through the void to rescue his mechanical hide from being crushed by falling debris. Together they blinked into Zavala's protective bubble. Despite wanting to fuss at Ikora for disrupting his final shot, Cayde rushed to the aid of a crewmember who had collapsed partway into the shield. Ikora ran up to Zavala and watched as the ships came closer, and closer. They never ceased firing.

Beads of sweat formed on Zavala's smooth head. His ability to hold this position was quickly waning. The edges of the bubble threatened to recede, and those waiting under it were forced to watch the Cabal's weapons aim themselves directly at their position.

The City below heard the roaring detonations and gazed in horror as the explosions decimated the Vanguard Command Center. Now, no longer seeing it as a threat, the Cabal ships ventured steadily forward, bringing with them a looming, star-shaped weapon.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Earth's lower atmosphere_

Sianna leaned back in the pilot's seat of her ship, sighing contentedly. They were finally coming back City-side after four long weeks of patrol on Venus. Though she was always willing to help wherever the Vanguard needed her… Sianna was gladly looking forward to the most basic of creature comforts: warm food, showers, and beds.

Valo appeared beside her. "I'm detecting a storm nearby the City - we're going to have to request docking ahead of time because of it."

"Of course it's storming." Groaned Sianna. "Storming on Venus, storming on Earth. Well, let's sound off. The quicker we land, the quicker I can eat some real food."

She reached over and thumbed through available frequencies until she found the official Vanguard channel.

"This is City Hawk Seven-Two-Three, requesting landing permission." Valo announced. Static filled the air.

"That's strange." He mused. "Tower Approach, this is City Hawk Seven-Two-Three, requesting landing permission. Anyone home?"

Sianna frowned. _Usually, someone in the hangar answers by the second hail._

"Switch it to emergency." Valo requested. Sianna flipped a switch next to the comms device.

"Tower! City Hawk Seven-Two-Three requesting immediate access to Vanguard Command."

The Ghost shook his shell like one would shake their head.

"No one's picking up on any channel, even the emergency ones. What is going on back there?" Sianna at up straight, now alert to the issue. Valo rounded on Sianna, who met his gaze with equal concern.

"Remember how I said you fly too fast?" He asked. "Forget I said that. Fly fast."

Sianna grabbed hold of the ship's thruster and pushed forward, accelerating into the swirling clouds in the distance. Winds buffeted the jump ship as it cut through the oddly thick coverage. Its pilot kept her grip firmly on the controls, fighting the turbulence.

"It's clearing up ahead." Valo reported. The clouds broke, revealing a scene of terrible disaster. The Tower was nearly engulfed in flames, still being struck by the Cabal ships surrounding it and moving steadily further. Plumes of smoke billowed from the building, as well as spots around the City.

"Oh no. The City…"

"Valo, find us a place to transmat, quickly!"

Sianna jumped out of the pilot's seat and pulled on her helmet while Valo brought the ship close to what was left of the Tower. When he found a space that was somehow still structurally sound and not in flames, he shouted for Sianna. She had barely grabbed her helmet and a sidearm before Valo activated the transmat and sent her down into the chaos.

The Guardian landed in a home that was nearly unrecognizable.


	3. Rendezvous

**"Rendezvous"**

"Where did you put us?" Sianna asked, looking around at the conflagration that covered the area.

"In Tower Watch. Or what's left of it." Valo just joined her in the devastation. "Let's get moving. We need to find Zavala, Ikora, and Cayde."

Sianna readied her pistol and began to carefully make her way into the Tower proper. Spreading fire threatened to scorch her robes more than once as she left Tower Watch through the partially opened door that had been the main entrance. The space beyond was not much better. Debris littered the hallway, effectively blocking her way further, and Sianna was forced to take a detour to the main part of the Tower through a hole that had been blasted into the wall.

This was not so much a hole as it was a tunnel, after Sianna found herself ducking under rubble and rebar from the upper stories. Finally, she could see the fluorescent lights of a hallway appearing ahead. A roar erupted from the opening before her, followed by a line of towering creatures.

"Cabal!"

The Cabal, all lower-level Legionaries, stood taller than Sianna by a good foot. They were clad in heavy red and black armor that resembled scales at the arms. In less chaotic times, Sianna would wonder what was beneath their helmets. As a highly militarized species, few had seen their actual faces. On the front of their armor was a painted symbol of two squares, one laid within the other and both missing the bottom line. The sides tapered to diagonals that pointed inward. Sianna aimed her sidearm and pulled the trigger, dispatching the oncoming enemies after several shots. Valo breathed a small sigh.

"This doesn't make sense. The Cabal conquer systems by blowing up planets. Whatever they want, it must be here - in the Last City." He pondered. Sianna could only vaguely listen to his words as another group of Cabal soldiers rounded the corner toward her. She rid the walkway of these threats similarly to the others, just in time to hear a static filled voice echo through the speakers.

"This is Commander Zavala. Civilians: report to evac points. Guardians: rendezvous in the Plaza. Our City will not fall."

"Through that door, Sianna. We can get to the Plaza that way. I'm sure Commander Zavala has a plan." Valo highlighted a door at the end of the short hallway they were in. Sianna approached it, ready to fight any Cabal that may be waiting on the other side.

The door began to creak open slowly. Before Sianna and Valo could see the room beyond, a figure slammed into the left panel, setting it off course. Cayde-6 coughed a bit as the wind was knocked out of him. Three Legionaries were also appeared knocked back and were trying to steady themselves for another attack. The Exo's bright eyes found the fellow Guardian standing on the other side of the door.

"Cayde!" Valo said.

"Hey, you two!" Cayde called back. "Give me a sec."

He summoned his Golden Gun and fired three flaming shots at the Cabal. Each shot hit a target, burning them into ash. Having disposed of the Cabal, he spun the hand cannon around in his palm. Sianna lowered her own weapon and entered the room after Cayde. He turned to face her, walking backwards into the burning room, speaking while he went.

"Zavala's doing the hero act in the Plaza. Me? I've got a date with whoever's behind this. It'll be a short date."

Sianna cocked her head, wondering if he even knew where to start finding out who was behind the attack. She was about to ask when Cayde turned heel and jumped close to a hole in the ceiling. His form dissolved into flecks of light as he transmat out of the room and to some other fight, presumably. Figuring the Hunter Vanguard knew what he was doing, Sianna moved to the stairway leading up and to their right.

Standing at the top of the stairway were a few armed Red Jack frames. They lowered their weapons as Sianna climbed the stairs to find what they were protecting. More than a dozen civilians had gathered in the dimly lit space, some hunched over from running, others sitting with their heads in their hands. Frightened faces turned to look at her, relaxing only slightly when they found out that she was a Guardian and not a threat.

"Over here, Warlock!" The booming voice of Lord Shaxx echoed in the hallway. Sianna looked in its direction, finding Shaxx standing by a closed door. She carefully moved around the terrified civilians and stood at attention before the enormous Titan.

"My armory is open to you. Follow the path from there. It will take you to the Plaza." Lord Shaxx rolled his fur-mantled shoulders and took hold of one side of the closed door. With a short pull, he forced the doors apart, just wide enough for her to slip through. Sianna turned her head and motioned at the others.

"I'll take care of these people." Shaxx reassured her.

His tone darkened and the grip he had on the doorframe tightened as he added, "If the Cabal want war, give them war."

Sianna nodded and went through the opening that Lord Shaxx created, entering his armory. She noticed that a rack of automatic rifles were still intact.

_Hope Shaxx doesn't mind me borrowing one of these_, she thought as she lifted one of the rifles out of its holding. She knew he would not, especially since she would be using it to rid the Tower of the invaders… but Sianna still made a mental note to do extra well in the Crucible next time as a small repayment. If there was a next time.

Now better armed, Sianna moved farther into the Tower, following Valo's instructions on navigating the ruined areas. Finally, the space opened up, and she could recognize the hangar. Moving through the air in front of the hangar was a massive vessel. It bore the same symbol as the Cabal that were attacking the Tower.

"Look at the size of that thing. It must be their command ship." Valo uttered. Sianna followed the path down to the main part of the hangar, where a Guardian's ship appeared to have crash-landed. Drop pods landed with ground-shaking thuds on either side of the ship, engaging Sianna in combat as soon as the protective shield had burned away. The auto rifle from Shaxx's armory proved to be a good choice for removing the threats.

One of the Cabal had a shield around it, making it harder for Sianna to attack. She ran up close to the creature, ignoring Valo's frantic questions of why she was not just shooting the Cabal, and struck its shield with a powerful blow from her palm. The shield fizzled and fell away, leaving the Centurion exposed to Sianna. It was now stunned and could not return fire before it was killed. Sianna took in deep breaths, looking around for any more enemies before running to the other side of the hangar.

Valo stirred within her. "They're not just assaulting the Tower. Look at the Traveler!"

Sianna turned her attention to the Traveler, in full view to her left. Resting on the outer shell was an odd, star-shaped instrument with a glowing center. It seemed as though it was only sitting there. For now.

"What do you think it is?" Sianna asked.

"I have no idea, Sianna." Valo admitted. "But we need to find Zavala, quickly."

* * *

The communications in Sianna's helmet hummed, calling her attention to the voices that were about to speak.

"OK. My Ghost keeps tagging these Cabal as 'Red Legion'. Ikora, what do you got?" Cayde said.

"They're elite. Ruthless. And rumor is, they have never known defeat."

Sianna felt relieved to hear her Vanguard Leader's voice. Though she could not see her, she knew Ikora was fighting with every ounce of her power and would expect Sianna to do the same.

"Until today. Today, they face Guardians." proclaimed Zavala.

"But Zavala! They're attacking the Traveler!" Ikora's voice was strained.

"The Traveler waits! We protect our people. At any cost."

The tunnel of rubble that Sianna had been cautiously traversing glowed with light at its end. She could see both Cabal and Guardian ships engaged in dogfights over the City and found that she had finally made it to the Tower Plaza. It was in just as bad shape as the rest of the Tower, but was thankfully free of Cabal, for the time being. On the other hand, there did not seem to be any Guardians, either. Sianna ran to the center of what used to be a beautiful location, holding back the sense of loss she was feeling.

"Over here, Guardian!"

Commander Zavala's voice did not come from inside her helmet. She turned her head to where she heard him, behind a hunk of fallen concrete and rebar. His pale blue face and clear eyes made him stand out among the orange haze of flame and ash. Sianna converged with the leader, standing at attention in a similar fashion to Lord Shaxx.

"These Red Legion are well trained." He admitted. "But we are better."

"What do you need us to do, Commander?" Valo asked for them both.

"We cannot let the Cabal interfere with the civilian escape shuttles. Fight with me."

Sianna nodded, readying her rifle. To their left, from where Sianna had emerged, two more Guardians appeared. They positioned themselves beside Sianna, awaiting orders. Zavala relayed the same information he gave Sianna before Cabal drop pods landed on the Plaza, dumping soldiers out in waves against the four Guardians. They all broke into different sections of the Tower entrance, prepared to defend it.

"We will hold this line until every civilian is safely away." Zavala yelled. Sianna and the other two Guardians raised their fists in reply. The Cabal roared at the small resistance and advanced. Sianna took out as many as she could from her position at Zavala's right, leaving the others to choose their own groups to dispatch.

It was hard for Sianna to tell whether she knew these two other Guardians, as any truly defining feature was covered by armor and they could not connect to the comms to offer their voices. They had to simply rely on Zavala's guidance and their own spatial awareness to eliminate the Cabal waves. They were competent, though, as neither allowed the Cabal to get within five feet of their platform. The sound of engines made the makeshift fireteam look up at the sky. A Thresher aimed its glowing weapons at their spot.

"Missiles! Stay inside my shield!" Zavala used his Light to force out his defensive bubble, which the three others jumped under just as the Thrasher's missiles landed. They remained protected by the shield, but could also not attack any Cabal that might try and work their way up. Sianna saw the same large vessel that she had seen in the hangar through the shield.

"We hold here -" Zavala said, throwing a hand out as though to dissuade her from breaking rank. "That command ship… it's next on my list."

Sianna nodded to reassure him that she was here until the evacuation was over. Zavala looked over his shoulder at the Plaza, where fresh drop pods had just landed.

"More Red Legion! Show them what Guardians are made of!"

Each scattered back to their original positions to fight this new wave of Cabal. They were stronger than the last, making the defenders fight harder to protect the shuttles. Sianna launched a grenade at the feet of a Centurion, taking it and another smaller Cabal out. Ikora's voice clicked on the Vanguard channel.

"Zavala, the last of the shuttles is away." She announced. "But the Speaker - he never made it. I'm going to look for him."

Zavala turned to face Sianna.

"I've got the Plaza with the others. Go with Ikora. Find the Speaker!" He instructed.

Sianna stood at attention. "We're on it, Commander!" Valo said. Then they were off, leaving the Plaza to find Ikora, and hopefully the Speaker.

* * *

"We're coming up on Tower North. I think I can sense-" Valo was interrupted by a group of Cabal shouting unknown war cries at the sight of Sianna. They made to rush her, but before they could take even one step, a giant ball of void energy crashed into them, disintegrating them all. A lithe figure landed in the spot where the Cabal once stood. Sianna recognized the glowing Vanguard bond on the woman's arm when she turned to face the sky.

"Ikora!" Valo cried.

"The Speaker is gone." Ikora's voice shook with a mixture of anger and sadness. "Red Legion, you will take no more from us!"

She leapt from the edge of the Tower, summoning another ball of void energy and throwing it at one of the Thresher's wings. She landed on the Thrasher as it began to lose altitude and fly away, with her hanging on its top. Sianna ran to the edge, watching until she could no longer see her Vanguard leader.

"Zavala -" Valo began, concerned about Ikora's words.

"She'll find the Speaker. We need to move on that command ship. Now head to North Tower. I'm sending Amanda Holliday to pick you up." Zavala's order got Sianna moving, knowing that she had some ground to cross before she made it to the rendezvous point.

Things were quickly becoming worse in her mind. The Tower attacked, the Traveler wrapped in some unknown device, and the Speaker gone with no sign of his health. She hoped that Zavala's plan to stop their command ship would bring a turn in the tide.

* * *

"This is the rendezvous point." Valo told Sianna as they came upon an open area. Several Cabal drop pods landed on the space, and as they melted away, the soldiers within opened fire upon Sianna immediately. She jumped behind a stack of crates on the outside of the door they had just come through. Energized bullets splintered the wood and showered her in the debris. Two shots passed through the already damaged barrier, finding their way into Sianna's arm and leg. She let out a hiss of pain, almost buckling from the hit to her leg.

"Valo-" she whispered. Within her, the Ghost sensed the injuries and released a flowing stream of light. In seconds, the wounds and pain had disappeared, giving Sianna the chance to launch a counterattack on the advancing Cabal. From her position, she was able to lob a grenade over the broken crates and land it between a cluster of Legionaries.

"Holliday is inbound. We need that ship off the field!" Zavala hollered over the comms. Sianna needed to clear the area as soon as possible so Holliday could transmat her on whatever ship the mechanic had gotten a hold of.

"Use your Light, Sianna. There are a group of them coming up; two are Centurions. I'll give the signal."

Sianna opened her palm and prepared to use the Light within. More shots rang out from the Cabal, grazing her form, but she focused on listening for Valo's signal.

"Now!"

She lithely jumped into the air and sent forth a ball of void energy at the group, similar to what Ikora had released earlier. The enemies in direct line of her blast were immediately disintegrated, and those who may have escaped were hunted by smaller spheres that had splintered away from the original explosion.

In the sky on the other side of the balcony, the roar of a City Hawk's engines rumbled and brought the ship into Sianna's view. Amanda Holliday's unique voice made her presence known.

"Someone told me you need a ride."


	4. Towerfall

**"Towerfall"**

"Firing transmat now, Guardian. Hold still."

Sianna's body disappeared from the balcony and reformed in the cargo hold of Amanda's ship. Holliday turned the ship on a dime and took off, sending Sianna stumbling back slightly.

"Zavala. Picked up that Guardian you never shut up about." Holliday said. The comms crackled with the sound of gunfire before Zavala answered.

"Get her on that command ship - now!"

Holliday glanced out the side window of her ship and saw the enormous vessel that Zavala must have been describing. In between them and the ship, however, were dozens of other Guardian ships and Cabal ships in combat that would have to be avoided.

"Hang on back there!" She shouted, grabbing the controls and jerking them to the side. Sianna gripped a panel for her dear second life as the ship swayed back and forth. It was not that she did not trust Amanda's skills in flying - on the contrary, she was the best that Sianna knew. This also meant, though, that Amanda would be performing some very complex maneuvers. Sianna prayed she would not have to be resurrected before she even made it to the Cabal command ship.

When the ship had been steadied after a spontaneous roll to avoid an exploding enemy ship, Sianna breathed a sigh of relief, noticing that she scraped by with only minor bruises that Valo quickly patched up. Holliday, too, felt relief for a brief moment. She noticed that as they approached the command ship, they also came close to the Traveler. It stayed inert, as always, despite the obvious attack upon it from the Cabal.

"Come on, big guy." Sianna heard Amanda murmur. "Do something."

In the short span of inattention, Amanda did not see the missiles from an enemy ship heading for them. The missiles struck the side of the City Hawk and sent Sianna tumbling once again. Amanda cursed under her breath. They were almost to the command ship, and had to avoid the weapons it might use to prevent Sianna from boarding.

Amanda flipped a switch above her pilot's seat, then accelerated and flipped the ship belly-up. Sianna yelped, clutching the piece of the cargo hold as her feet left the floor. A golden shield formed around the command vessel as the smaller ship glided along its surface. For several terrifying seconds, Sianna dangled there, until Amanda pulled the controls to the opposite of what they were. The City Hawk rose up between the two prongs at the back of the Cabal command ship and levelled out above one.

Amanda prepared the ship's transmat. "All right, Guardian. Time to kick 'em where it hurts."

Sianna felt the familiar sensation of dissolving in transmat. Seconds later, she was on the ship.

"Let us know when those shields are down and we'll hit that ship with everything we've got." Amanda said before flying away.

"I've scanned the ship. I can lead us to the shield generators." Valo informed Sianna. She gripped her rifle.

"Can we contact the others?" She asked quietly. Valo seemed to understand that she was not talking about the Vanguard.

"Only the Vanguard channel seems to be open. We will have to take care of the ship before we can reach out to Kat or Aden."

Sianna nodded and ran toward the interior of the ship. This was not the first time she had been tasked with an important and potentially dangerous mission without her fireteam… but something felt off. She swallowed the unease, forcing herself to focus on Valo's directions.

* * *

As she made her way into the belly of the ship, Sianna heard the Vanguard channel click on. Commander Zavala shouted into his end.

"Cayde! What's your status?"

Cayde-6's voice was a little more subdued.

"Uh… little low on ammo. The whole flaming pistol-" Static cut out his words.

"Burning out… Any…" [More static.] "-eard from Ikora?"

"Not since she went to look for the Speaker." Zavala's reply was almost lost in the same static. He directed his words to an unseen group.

"Form up! [Static] On me!"

Sianna picked up her pace, knowing that things were becoming dire for her comrades on the ground. If she could disable this command ship, they could potentially remove the leadership of the invasion and salvage what was left of the Tower and its surroundings. She vaguely heard Valo plead for her not to push herself as she hurtled into room after room of the ship. Some Cabal soldiers attempted to stop her progress. They found themselves at the wrong end of her bullets.

Finally, she appeared in a large room with rapidly spinning turbines.

"All right." Valo said. "Destroy the turbines. The shields should fizzle."

Sianna aimed her rifle and emptied bullets into the open space that held one of the turbines. It cracked and smoked, then spun to a stop.

"Yes! Just like that! You'll have to move to the next space. Watch out for those spinning arms. I don't think they will be safe to touch."

With Valo's instruction, Sianna leapt into the air and glided over one of the arms. The second was coming quickly, forcing her to slide down and land harshly in the open space containing another turbine. She destroyed this one before moving on to the last. When all exhaust turbines were destroyed, Valo connected himself and Sianna to the comms.

"Zavala! We did it! The shields are down!"

Static was all they received. For some unexplained reason, Sianna's heart skipped a beat. Communication should have improved, not become worse. She jumped onto a platform that Valo pointed out while he tried to reach the Commander.

"Zavala?" He called out. There was no answer. "Amanda, we're headed topside!"

Holliday's voice could not be heard over the sound of static and combat.

"Amanda?! We've lost the signal. We have to get outside."

A diamond-shaped blip appeared on Sianna's heads-up display, leading around a corner and away from the burning hallway she had found herself in.

"There's a door, it should lead us to a landing pad."

Sianna skidded around the corner and through the indicated door, finding herself exactly where Valo thought they would. Valo appeared next to Sianna as she ran out into the open space. Winds whipped her robes around her legs and threatened to push her backward. The landing pad offered Ghost and Guardian a wide view of the destruction the Cabal had wrought.

Sianna's eyes fell on the Traveler as it dominated the skyline. The star-like instrument they had seen before had now expanded with long chains across the whole of the sphere. Valo turned to her.

"How do we come back from this?" He asked sadly. Sianna stared at the afflicted Traveler and shook her head gently, feeling just as uneasy as Valo sounded.

"You don't." Answered a thundering voice.

The new voice was deep and guttural. Though it spoke a language Sianna could understand, she knew it did not belong to someone friendly. She and Valo spun to face the direction of the voice.

An enormous Cabal, huge even in their standards, walked out onto the landing pad. He wore grand white armor, lined with gold and looked to be of high ranking. He towered over the two other soldiers that flanked him. These were also dressed in quality armor, with winged backs. They were presumably his personal guard… altogether making this huge presence the apparent leader of the attackers. Sianna noticed that he did not wear a helmet, leaving a pallid, hairless head exposed. His face was wrinkled and scarred from a long life of fighting. Over where she presumed his mouth would be was a triangular vent that connected to his chest piece.

"Welcome to a world without Light." The Cabal leader growled, sweeping a large hand to motion to the Traveler. Turning, Sianna was filled with apprehension at the words she heard. She had paid attention just in time to see the star-shaped cage around the Traveler emanate a shockwave of energy over the sphere, wrapping it in what appeared to be a shield.

Something within Sianna lurched. It was not her heart, nor her stomach… This was a part of her that she approximated to her soul… It was the very part that held the well of Light from which she drew her power. Sianna stumbled, stricken with vertigo as she felt the Light being actively drained from her body. She could see Valo being similarly afflicted, as the gift that had been bestowed upon him was wrenched out by whatever these Red Legion had done to the Traveler. He shuddered and dropped a bit in the air. Sianna glanced down at herself, witnessing a coat of light covering her body and floating away in specks.

"Sianna, something's wrong." Valo groaned in what sounded like pain. He now dropped completely to the floor of the landing pad, his little eye blinking in and out. Sianna herself dropped to her knees. She felt sick… hollow without the Light. Her breath came in short gasps and under her, she could feel the vibrating steps of the Cabal as they approached her and Valo.

Before he could be crushed under the Cabal leader's boot, Sianna reached out and grasped her small companion, pulling him close to her body. She turned her head slowly to see the leader better. His unarmored face revealed piercing red eyes that bore into what was left of her soul.

"Do not look at me, creature!"

He kicked Sianna forcefully, sending her hurtling to the other side of the landing pad. She let out a cry of pain as she bounced several times, landing finally in a small divot that had collected water. The chill of the icy water only served to exacerbate her aching injuries. Incredibly, she kept her hold on Valo, but she could not feel the usual brightness of their connection.

"You are weak. Undisciplined. Cowering behind walls."

Sianna turned over from her back in a painful attempt to raise herself up. The leader continued his advance.

"You're not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death."

Her teeth ground together as she fought the pain and fear she felt. Sianna had come up tentatively on weak knees. She could feel the heat of the leader's exhaust port on the back of his armor. He was incredibly, uncomfortably close.

"Allow me to re-acquaint you." His booming voice rumbled her helmet. When she lifted her face, she was struck by the back of his hand, sending her in the air and down upon her back. Her arms slammed the ground at her sides, shocking her fingers apart with the reverberation and loosening her grip on the Ghost within. Sianna slid uncontrollably on the wet surface, coming dangerously close to the edge. Valo's shell slipped from her fingers and was sent over the side.

Sianna scrambled to catch him, but she could only lean helplessly, reaching for her lost friend. Words were lost on the lump in her throat. She hung her head. She could hear the Cabal coming closer.

"Your kind never deserved the power you were given."

Slowly, Sianna turned to face her fate. For a fearful, fleeting moment, Sianna felt panic well deep within her - a despair she had felt only once before. She was going to die. Really, really die. No Traveler. No Valo. No hope.

"I am Ghaul. And your light..." Ghaul pointed a finger at the Traveler. Sianna raised her head in the last effort of defiance to him.

"Is mine."

Ghaul lifted his enormous boot and placed it on Sianna's face. She did not resist him as he pushed her off of the landing pad. There was weightlessness as the wind and colors of the world rushed past her.

And then, there was nothing.


	5. Vision

"Vision"

Beams of light filtered through clouds surrounding her. Sianna felt like she was still falling, but it was not her moving… the winds moved around her, instead. Was she flying, then?

A bird made of white, wispy light flew beside her, and she felt the overwhelming need to follow it through the clouds. The coverage cleared, revealing a scene she had never seen before. The Traveler, hovering above a strange stone formation in an unfamiliar world, seeding the land with Light. Before Sianna could wonder longer about the landscape, she was dragged down by an unknown force, pulled under a river of black water.

She opened her eyes, finding that they were not immediately filled with the dark liquid. Beneath her, she could see faces, gazing in horror and anguish up at her. Arms reached up and mouths froze in unheard screams. Sianna recoiled, pushing herself upward in hopes that she could breach the water's surface. The statues of the people who drowned in the deep faded. She could see a light atop the water, and though she tried to reach it, she never seemed to get any further. Lines of pyramids dotted the surface and dropped into the water on top of Sianna. She shielded herself from their descent, but nothing touched her.

When she looked back, she was no longer in water. She floated within empty space, watching a grand machine breaking down a planet's surface, before the image bloomed with light, blinding her briefly. The light focused, now becoming a spear made of arcing energy, then a burning sword, and a shield that shuddered with the void.

The bird reappeared next to Sianna, beckoning her once more. Her view panned over a lake that met forests and mountains that looked similar to the ones that surrounded the City. Nestled among these trees and rocks was an impressive structure… Sianna gazed upon a massive shard of the Traveler. Discarded after its battle with the darkness, it was now corrupted.

The bird circled over the shard, trailing light on its wings. She felt like it was calling her closer… calling her to the shard. Sianna could not speak to ask questions, and could only watch as the vision faded back to the darkness before.

A voice spoke quietly to her.

_**You are not done yet.**_


	6. Escape

**"Escape"**

_**You are not done yet.**_

_The Last City, Two Days After the Attack_

Sianna's senses came back one by one - a slow, painful testament to the fact that, despite the fall from the Cabal ship above, she was still alive. The agony she felt coursing through her body made her wish so desperately that she was not, though. Smoke, thick and acrid, seeped into her helmet through cracks along its surface. The smell of the Last City, her home, being razed to the ground by the Red Legion made Sianna's pain ache even more.

In the distance, the reports of gunfire and the warbling of great engines told her that the invaders were still nearby. Sianna's eyes opened with enormous effort as she attempted to figure out just where she had landed. The landscape was nearly unrecognizable, with crumbled concrete and shredded banners littering the ground around her. She must have landed somewhere in the City, but she couldn't be completely sure where. Every cell in her being screamed for Sianna to stay still, stay laying on the space of ground that had somehow not been so cruel as to end her right then and there. But her mind was racing.

She was still alive. She was not done yet. The words echoed softly in her ears. If she could just stand!

Sianna braced herself and forced her body to give movement a try. Gently as she could, she rolled onto her side, using her elbow and a nearby chunk of debris to leverage her weight upward. The smoke in her damaged helmet made breathing harder, so she pulled it off of her face with a grunt. It disappeared in a flash of light when it hit the ground. Dust, the smell of gunsmoke and the sound of war assaulted her every sense without the barrier of the headpiece.

She could not think clearly through the cacophony of devastation. When Sianna attempted to move forward, a bolt of pain struck through her. Sianna grabbed her left side, gasping in anguish. She noticed a wet, sticky substance congealed there. She decided not to focus on it. Instead, her orange eyes scanned the ruined area before her, attempting to assess whether she was safe at all. Cabal still stormed through the streets; dozens of Legionaries, Phalanxes, and even the greater winged Leviathans were only a couple hundred yards from her. She walked slowly, carefully, trying to stay as out of sight as she could.

Sianna had no sense of where she was going. She only knew that she needed to start moving before she was spotted by enemies who would, without a doubt, overpower her. She took a few more shuffling steps, gritting her teeth through each spike of white-hot pain those footsteps caused. Every inch she gained was both a victory and a curse. She wouldn't make it long without some healing - that fact was becoming clearer. But she had to try.

Suddenly, Sianna heard a voice. She could not yet understand what it was saying over the noise around her, but it was a voice, and Sianna felt it was her best chance at help. Or putting her out of her misery. Slowly but surely she pushed herself closer to the sound. She eased around a fallen piece of what was probably the Tower, using its shadow to hide her, and leaning on it for support.

When the pain in her side became too great to continue, Sianna had no choice but to dip to her knees. Her eyelids drifted shut, pulled down by fatigue from being near death and walking so far. She heard the voice speak again. It was much closer to her now, she realized. And to her relief, it was not the guttural language of the Cabal.

No, this voice… it was familiar. It was the first voice she heard when she was chosen. Sianna opened her eyes, and there he was. Bobbing gently among the dust, the Ghost's voice sounded pained and exhausted.

"Sianna! Guardian?! This is awful- awful! This can't be happening..."

Sianna almost fell over from relief.

"Valo!" She breathed, pushing herself up and shuffling as fast as she could with her pain. The Ghost turned toward the sound. His eye brightened when it found the woman.

"Sianna!" Valo flew over to her. Sianna smiled through her gritted teeth, holding out a hand to her friend. Valo nudged her open palm. He was speaking rapidly, and Sianna barely caught any of it.

"You're alive… I thought I'd lost you."

Sianna didn't hear the rest, as her vision darkened and she fell forward, only just catching herself before slamming her face into the ground. On her hands and knees, she let out short gasps of pain. This was a far as she could go. Her body could take no more. Thin threads of light, almost lost in the smoke, reached out and danced over Sianna's body. Her pain receding, each breath became easier to take in, and strength was finally returning to her.

Sianna stood up to her full height, having been granted yet another second chance. She was alive. Valo was alive. They were not done yet. Valo moved to her side.

"Sianna...I can heal you, but," He paused. "But I can't resurrect you. Not since…"

She nodded solemnly, understanding that she would have to be very, very careful from now on. Sianna opened her hand to hold Valo. He settled on her palm, allowing Sianna to get a good look at him.

His shell was busted almost to pieces, no longer held tightly by the Light he once carried. There was a large chunk missing from the top spire and much of the beautiful red and white paint had been scratched away.

"You look terrible, big guy. Go ahead and vanish before we are found." Sianna whispered.

Valo made a small nodding motion and disappeared, making himself scarce to avoid any chance of him being destroyed - a fate he had witnessed fellow Ghosts befall.

"Sianna… The Light is gone." Valo said miserably.

Sianna bent down to collect a beat-up pistol that she was not even sure had ammo, but it made her feel better, having this illusion of safety. She started walking in the direction of an underpass to give them some cover.

"They've taken the City, the Traveler, everything… The Red Legion is killing powerless Guardians. We have to get out of here."

She made her way through the underpass and into a tunnel, hoping that they would be spared from meeting any more invaders. With nothing more than an empty pistol, she would have little defense… and no way to return.

"I'm picking up an emergency broadcast. Rendezvous coordinates. They're evacuating the planet." Valo spoke slowly, his voice trembling with static. "We're on our own."

Sianna tried not to focus on what Valo had said. Instead, she wrung her hands over the pistol in her grasp and focused on the path ahead. The tunnel was more or less intact until they neared the end. There, where the wall would have begun, a hole had been torn out of the stone, exposing the tunnel to the outskirts beyond.

A breeze blew past them, pushing away the smell of the burning City and bringing fresh air with it. But the breeze could not wash away what had happened. Sianna took a deep breath, forcing herself to keep walking away from the only place she knew as home.

* * *

_City Outskirts, Four Days After the Attack_

She had been walking for two days now. She did not know how she managed to keep her feet moving, but she suspected that Valo had been consistently healing any pain in her legs, in an effort to get them as far away as possible. The sun had just risen on this fourth day, bringing with it a light rain that soaked Sianna through. They had made it to a green valley, dotted with birch trees and fallen boulders from the mountains around it.

Sianna glanced around her surroundings, checking to make sure there were no Red Legion hiding among the flora. There were none to be found, but she saw something else that made her stop in her tracks. A falcon sat atop one of the boulders, inspecting Sianna with its black eyes. When Sianna got closer, the bird took flight, soaring through the valley. She broke out into a run after it. Its cries echoed around the area, helping Sianna locate it better as it flew farther away. In the distance, she saw a red banner ripple in the wind. She wondered if the falcon was leading them to comrades.

Sianna made it to the banner and saw that it bore the Guardian crest. If there were more Guardians nearby, then they would be in luck. It seemed too quiet, though. She moved slowly forward. Soft sunlight filtered through the cloud coverage and illuminated the path to a clearing protected from some of the elements. The rays shone upon the remains of a small makeshift camp that had been raided. Her heart fell.

Strewn across sleeping bags and fabric lean-to's were the bodies of fellow Guardians. Blood and the biofuel of Cabal painted the area around the bodies. Rain was washing away the evidence of the battle that had taken place. Sianna approached the nearest body, a Titan. She bent low and felt the person's neck. Just as she had feared, there was no pulse.

"These Guardians… They had no chance without their powers…" Valo flew to the other bodies, scanning them and any of their Ghosts that may have died alongside them.

Sianna felt a selfish relief when she did not recognize any of the fallen. Try as she might to avoid it, she wondered how her friends had fared. Did they meet the same fate as these poor souls? The thought of Kat or Aden lying dead somewhere made her heart hurt. They had all been through so much, it did not feel right to think that they could be gone. It was painful enough to see so many fellow Guardians that had been Returned to Light.

Her hand moved to her side, where she had been gouged by her fall. Despite the fact that muscle and flesh and fabric had been repaired, she could still feel residual pain. Almost as though her mortality made it linger.

"That could be us. Sianna… if you die…"

"Don't, Valo." Sianna said in a tenuous voice. "Don't think about it."

Valo turned away from his Guardian, allowing her a moment to herself before pointing out a discarded submachine gun for her to take. She picked up the weapon and attached it to her back by a clip on her robes and moved to another section of the camp.

Valo scanned nearby ammunition to hold for her, along with an emergency package with essentials. He noticed Sianna unrolling sleeping bags. She knelt by each of her fallen comrades and draped them in the substitute shrouds. Valo said nothing as she did this, knowing that it was her way of dealing with the very new and real pain of loss. He hoped that she would not have to see it again.

Their brief moment of peace was shattered by a roar. On the hill opposite of where they entered, a Cabal war beast rose up on its hind legs and let out another cry. It was joined by several others as they barrelled down the hill toward the only living thing in sight. Valo disappeared within Sianna and she grabbed her newly acquired weapon, showering the oncoming enemies with bullets. She could feel her heartbeat in her ears as she fought the small group of Red Legion. Every shot was a battle for her own life. Sianna eliminated all the creatures that spilled into the valley, granting herself and Valo another moment in the world.

* * *

_Twilight Gap, One Week After the Attack_

Snow had now replaced rain, and Sianna was thankful for her decision to grab an extra helmet from the ill-fated camp in the valley. At least now she was guarded against the flakes that collected around her. They had made it up the nearest mountain, hoping that taking this route would be safer than going the long way around. Valo estimated that it had been a week since the Red Legion attacked the City. One week since they lost the light.

Sianna sat under the protection of a small cave, huddled beneath a blanket from the emergency package Valo had collected. She did not want to risk making a fire, in case the smoke alerted any more Red Legion that roamed the area. The decision to stop was not her own. Valo wore her down with his pleas for her to rest, that she could die from more than just bullets, now.

"Do it for me, Sianna. We'll make it to the rendezvous point, but only if you're alive."

So now she sat and watched the snowfall, lost in the moment. She wanted so desperately to get to the rendezvous point. To see other living Guardians. To know that not all was lost. Above anything, she wanted to see her friends. She wanted to hear Kat-3 hounding Aden for some absurd Hunter recklessness, and hear Aden argue with his Ghost over how long it had actually been since he was last resurrected.

Sianna rested her forehead on her arms, forcing her eyes shut and not allowing herself to think about the worst-case scenario. She had to believe that they were safe. But with the Light gone…

"Sianna?" Valo asked gently. She lifted her head, finding the Ghost floating right in front of her.

"We should keep moving. It'll be dark before we know it."

When Sianna did not move, Valo nudged her.

"I know you're worried about them. So am I. I'm worried for their Ghosts, too. But we won't know if they are okay until we find others."

Sianna rubbed her face, working feeling back into her nose and cheeks. She knew Valo was right. They had to keep going. If anything, she had to know what the vision was trying to tell her about the shard of the Traveler. She stood up and put on her helmet, then wrapped up the blanket. Valo scanned the blanket, causing it to disappear into her inventory. They stood at the edge of the cave, looking out onto the snowy world. Somewhere in the distance, there was the echoing cry of a bird of prey.

Just outside their previous shelter, the bird that called out to the wild listed on a boulder. It rustled its feathers as Sianna came close.

"It's that falcon again," said Valo. The falcon screeched once more and flew away, going through a clear pass in the mountain.

"Is it following us? Or are we following it?"

Sianna answered his question by running, once again, after the falcon.

* * *

The only traversable path they could find after seeing the falcon again was a thin, snowy outcropping that hugged the mountainside. Sianna sidled the passage with her back against the rock. She took careful steps, not daring to move too fast in case she lost her footing, and not daring to look down.

She was not a fan of heights. Not since falling from the Command Ship. She could go up against any tangible threat that came her way; be it a towering Fallen Captain, hundreds of Thrall with their gnashing teeth, and even the most recent threat of the Cabal… These could all be fought. But falling from a great height? She could not fight gravity.

So she shuffled slowly along the ledge, paying careful attention to her feet and little else. That is, until something made the rock tremble beneath her. Sianna's head shot up, looking to see what was causing the quake. Before her was a view that would have been breathtaking at any other time.

From her position, she could see the Traveler, caught in its cage. Great plumes of black smoke rose up around the sphere, carried away by winds. The Last City was little more than an orange line of flames from where she stood. For a moment, she forgot her fear of heights and stared out onto that far off horizon, wondering if they would ever return home.

The ground rumbled again. Coming into view from behind the mountain was another massive Cabal ship. Sianna pressed herself closer to the mountainside in an effort to make herself scarce. The ship paid no mind to the tiny Guardian on the rocks and continued its path toward the Last City, no doubt bringing fresh troops to secure the swift capture.

Sianna braved one last look at the Traveler and the City that lay beneath it.

"Whatever it takes, Valo…" She said softly. Though he was tucked away, she knew he was listening.

"We are going to get our home back."

Valo did not want to be the one to point out that this would be almost impossible without their Light. Her stalwart resolution was palpable, though, and it filled him with a sense of pride.

With or without the Light; she was still his Guardian.

* * *

"You have to rest."

"Not yet."

"Don't you dare try to say that you aren't exhausted. I am _literally_ a part of you."

"I'm fine."

Sianna had barely stopped to rest, much less sleep, since they were on the sheer mountainside. Valo was trying, yet again, to get her to slow down; this time with little success. He was not sure what was driving her, but if she did not take some time to recuperate…

"The falcon!" she said suddenly. She had spotted the bird on a far-off rock near the end of the gap, where beyond there was an open, grassy field. Sianna would have to jump down several ledges to reach it again. Pushing down the newfound fear of heights and falling, she took a running leap off the ledge she stood upon. By this point, they were far enough down that snow was not a problem, so she landed easily on the rocks on the other side of the crevasse.

Sianna peered over the edge, finding that a river flowed in between the two areas. At least if she fell, the water could break her fall. Maybe that would be better than solid ground. The falcon let out a cry as if to make sure she was still paying attention to it. It was perched on the edge of the rock, separated from Sianna only by a small jump. Compared to others that she had made, this should be easy.

Just in case, she took a running start. At the last moment; however, her foot slipped on moss that she had not noticed. Her jump was not powerful enough to propel her even over this short gap, and she slammed into the edge.

"Sianna!" Valo was freaking out. She gripped the edge as best as she could, but her tired fingers were slowly losing their grasp. Her Ghost flit frantically around her, trying to get information on how she could get back up.

"Hang on, hang on, hang on!" He cried, watching helplessly as Sianna slipped even farther. She shut her eyes tight. Her left hand slipped from its grip. Her right hand would not be far behind. She thought of Valo, of what he would do if she did not make it. Sianna was saved once from a fall even greater than this one… as her hand finally lost its hold and she tumbled downward, she hoped that she could be granted another miracle.

* * *

Sianna's eyes cracked open as she heard footsteps approaching. Standing above her was a woman with a dark complexion and a ring of circles tattooed around her eyes. The woman reached down, offering her hand to help Sianna up.

"Oh look. Someone left a perfectly good Guardian-" The woman pulled Sianna to a standing position. "Lying around. Things must be worse than I thought."

An explosion sounded off in the distance.

"And that's our cue. Time to go, people!" She called out to the others that Sianna had not noticed were there. Valo moved forward a bit.

"Ah, but… Wait! Where- where are you all going?" He asked. Sianna glanced around at the other people, trying to discern whether any were Guardians or not.

"As far away from here as possible."

A falcon screech made her look up, seeing the bird come down from the mountain. The woman held out her arm that was covered in a thick glove, and the falcon landed on it. It shook snow off its feathers and nibbled the edge of the glove it stood on. Sianna and Valo exchanged a look.

"That falcon… It belongs to you?"

The woman smiled at the falcon, then turned to them.

"The name's Hawthorne. And this is Louis." She tilted her head to the bird. "Best pilot we got. What about you? Fit to fly?"

Sianna nodded. She was glad to know that the rendezvous point was not just an illusion. Hawthorne nodded back, then said

"Probably gonna need one of these, too." She threw the shotgun she had been holding in her other hand to Sianna, who caught it deftly. She had lost her other gun in the fall from the cliff.

"Time to make yourself useful, _Guardian_."

Hawthorne turned and shouted to the people standing by a number of ships in the field.

"All right people, spin 'em up! Got a long flight ahead of us!"

Sianna followed the poncho-clad woman and her bird, boarding the ship that was she was directed to pilot. Refugee civilians packed into any available safe area on this vessel as well as any other that could be piloted. She let out a sigh of relief. Guardians were usually the only pilots, save a few exceptions.

She was not alone, and all was not lost.


	7. Dominus

**"Dominus"**

Ghaul stood on the throne deck of his command ship, gazing out of its panoramic windows onto the Traveler. The cage that his legion had placed upon the sphere now began the long process of spreading a black casing from the center portion of the original star shape. His army of warships patrolled the skies around the object, spreading more smoke that continued to cover the City below. He was pleased; the capture of the City and of the Traveler had been swift and deadly.

"Do you see, Traveler…? All that I have done?" he murmured to the empty space around him.

"Grace me with your Light. Take your place at the center of my empire! See me, and the Red Legion will be your true Guardians."

"Dominus!"

Footsteps echoed in the chamber behind Ghaul, announcing with their reverberation that someone was approaching. Ghaul looked slightly over his shoulder to find a heavily armored fellow Cabal walking up the ramp to enter the throne deck. Draped across the front of this newcomer's red chest plate were chains that dangled with a skull of an unknown species, as well as numerous inner spheres of destroyed Ghosts. They rattled against the metal armor like morbid chimes. Similar to Ghaul, the older Cabal did not wear a helmet, choosing to have his head exposed.

"The City is secure. Those who fled are being hunted… and those foolish enough to remain have been executed. Victory, as with all things, is yours to claim," the Cabal who was simply known as 'The Consul' continued as he made his way to stand just behind Ghaul's left side.

"This victory is as much yours as it is mine, old friend," Ghaul remarked, turning slightly to face The Consul.

"All that remains is the completion of the cage around this great machine," The Consul made a sweeping gesture to the Traveler outside the window. "Then we may begin the extraction of its power and put it to its rightful use."

"They call it the Traveler."

"I would contend that other civilizations may be more precise in their naming. Its functions can be controlled and exploited, as we have so clearly proven."

"Yet they believe it to be a god," noted Ghaul thoughtfully.

"Dominus,"

The Consul paused, noticing that the familiar name did not catch the leader's attention as it had before. His concentration remained on the Traveler.

"Ghaul. We have spent our lives, you and I, working to reshape our society, re-forge our people… rebuild an empire nearly destroyed by Calus's greed and corruption."

He walked forward while he spoke, positioning himself deliberately between Ghaul and the windows. His figure blocked most of the view that Ghaul had of the Traveler, nonverbally demanding his mentee's awareness by taking this position.

"There is nothing in this universe greater than _you_! The Red Legion will have that machine's power. You will be called Emperor!" The Consul extended his arms out to his sides in a presenting stance. "What more would the Dominus have?"

Ghaul did not answer right away. He fixed his mentor with a look before turning and walking to the throne deck's center.

"I would have words with my guest."

As if on cue, a pod that sat in the ceiling at the deck's center hissed open, spilling gases and lowering a device. It came to a shuddering stop before Ghaul, revealing its designed purpose. Suspended from metal clasps at hands and feet was a prisoner. He hung limply from his bindings, drained by capture. His grey robes ruffled with the air being blown around him. Ghaul approached his prisoner, coming incredibly close to the mask that covered the man's face.

"So, you are the one who speaks for the Traveler."


	8. The Farm

**"The Farm"**

Valo flew from the back of the ship to hover next to Sianna. He had gone to check upon the passengers at Hawthorne's request, reluctantly leaving Sianna to fly the ship in silence. Her head swam with thoughts of the vision she had received, only interrupted when Valo called out her name. She gave him a sideways glance to show that she was listening if he was to continue.

"I spoke to some of the other Guardians that are back there. Anyone who may have known Aden or Kat-3 says they were not sure if they had seen either of them during the attack on the City."

He noticed her hands grip the ship's steering a little tighter.

"It doesn't mean that they are lost, Sianna. Don't give up hope. Besides, we have our vision. It has to mean something."

Sianna released the breath she did not realize she was holding. She was tired. She would never announce it to Valo, who would immediately launch into a monologue of 'I told you so's'. Instead, she focused on making the ship fly as smoothly as possible for those in the back. A static crackle announced that the old vessel was being hailed. Sianna nodded to Valo, who connected them with Hawthorne.

"Coming up on the European Dead Zone. Gonna be our new home for a while," Hawthorne said. In Sianna and Valo's view, the clouds that had been rolling beneath them cleared to reveal a strikingly familiar scene. A large, broken structure nestled among dark trees and mountains, casting a shadow on the earth around it. The shard from her vision.

"Look! Do you recognize it? That's where we're supposed to go!" Valo gasped.

"That thing?" wondered Hawthorne. "They call it the Shard of the Traveler. I call it: not a place you want to go poking around. Follow my lead, we'll be landing at the Farm in no time."

* * *

The Farm, as Hawthorne called it, was a small part of a bigger collection of buildings that would be serving as a new camp for all those escaping from the ruins of the City to seek refuge. Sianna landed from transmat on the edge of a wooded area facing two dilapidated structures. She took in the view of what was to become her home for the foreseeable future. In the far distance of the clearing that comprised the Farm, the Shard of the Traveler loomed. Smoke drifted from unseen causes around the base of the shard.

One of the buildings closest to Sianna was an almost completely hollowed out barn that was just big enough to fit a small ship within for repairs. A large blue flag bearing the Guardian crest was hung on the barn's broadside. Its clean appearance stood out sharply against the burnt orange rust coloring of the old metal. It was likely there to be a source of comfort to the refugees like herself, but Sianna looked upon it with a twinge of sadness.

The other building, Valo explained, was a home. It once belonged to whoever owned the farm, long ago. Now, it once again served as shelter from the elements. The house had what appeared to be multiple wings that did not match the rest of the architecture, showing the progression of construction in response to a need for more space. Sianna avoided the house, for the time being, and choosing to explore further. Since she had not found where Hawthorne went, it could not hurt to get her bearings before meeting again with the woman.

People wandered everywhere around the area, going in and out of the main buildings, carrying supplies or tools, or guiding others to places for rest. A few who were seen working could be recognized as Guardians by what was left of robes, armor or cloaks. Their Ghosts hovered close to them, unwilling to stray far from their friends. Sianna could not see whether Aden or Kat-3 were among them. She was afraid to look… afraid to find that they would not be there.

Some children darted around the adults, chasing a flock of chickens and squealing with delight as the flightless birds sprinted just out of their reach. The train of commotion ran in front of Sianna as she made her way to a small courtyard area behind the house. An old and broken fountain sat in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by flagstones and benches. It was a pretty little area that served as the view for one of the only people Sianna immediately recognized.

Under a fabric roof used to cover a raised deck stood Tyra Karn, one of the Traveler's chosen who dedicated her second life to studying and recording history, for the benefit of her fellow Guardians. She looked much the same as Sianna had last seen her. Like Sianna, Tyra was an Awoken woman, though Tyra's skin resembled a more violet hue that was also common among the race.

Sianna made her way up to the cryptarch. Instruments and decryption devices surrounded the woman; Tyra herself was busy musing over a small engram. She passed it between her palms, which were covered by her long sleeves to ward off the chill of the European winds. Noticing a new presence in her corner of the Farm, Tyra glanced up from her work. She smiled kindly at the younger Awoken. The warm-colored lamps that lit her surroundings shone off of her silvery-white hair. Vivid white eyes, full of knowledge built on years of study took in Sianna's disheveled, but alive, appearance.

"Oh, I'm glad to see you safe. I am Tyra. Tyra Karn…" she paused, her forehead crinkling in thought. She set the engram on a table nearby, leaving her hands free to fold together in front of her.

"I'm sorry, have we met before? Losing my connection to the Light has been… disorienting."

Not long ago, Sianna had been asked to help one of the original Iron Lords, Lord Saladin, with quelling a self-replicating nanotechnology called SIVA that had been unearthed by a house of the Fallen and begun to run rampant.

Years before Sianna had even been resurrected, the Iron Lords infiltrated Site 6, where SIVA was kept, in an attempt to reclaim the ancient Golden Age tech. They found SIVA, but at great cost. The Warmind Rasputin treated them as intruders and set the nanotechnology against the group. Those who were infected turned against their comrades…in the end, most of the Iron Lords sacrificed themselves to seal SIVA away. Lord Saladin was the only one to make it out alive.

With Sianna, SIVA was contained once again, putting the souls of the Iron Lords to rest and earning her the title of Lord Guardian. Tyra Karn had been the Iron Lord's cryptarch and historian, and she had been one of the first to congratulate Sianna on becoming the first Lord Guardian.

Tyra shook her head lightly as if to rid herself of the confusion that had come over her. She fixed Sianna with her bright white irises.

"Now, I understand you seek the Shard of the Traveler. I, too, have dreamt of it. Its jagged, broken edge. A wound that never heals…" her hand arced in the air, tracing a curve that mimicked the shape of the shard. She frowned.

"But I do not trust its pull. Like us, the shard no longer knows the Light; not since the Traveler cast it off during the Collapse. For centuries it has twisted and corrupted everything around it. Where it lies is now a place of death."

Sianna looked at Valo. He guessed at her thoughts; it was not difficult, after all these years. She was never one to shy away from a hazardous journey. Tyra recognized the unwavering resolution in the other's face. She steepled her fingers in front of her, drumming them one at a time upon each other as she studied Sianna.

"If you are determined to go, remember: we Guardians are no longer immortal."

Unbidden memories of the raided camp made their way back into Sianna's mind. Their fate would be a constant reminder of the mortality that she faced. Tyra, satisfied that Sianna was aware of the very real possibility of failure, now offered the young Guardian an encouraging smile.

"Without Light to sustain it, this body of mine cannot make the pilgrimage to the Shard," she gestured to Sianna. "But, perhaps, you can."

Tyra retrieved the engram she had previously been examining and presented it to Sianna. With a confused look, Sianna accepted the engram, noticing that its contents had been decrypted. Tyra had gifted the Guardian with a new bond, an item that signified her class as a Warlock. Sianna took out the small braided band of navy-blue fabric that was tied in several places, replacing the ripped and singed bond on her left arm. Usually, her Warlock bonds would hum with power from the Light, but now it was nothing more than a symbol. Sianna bowed her head in thanks all the same, which Tyra returned.

"Return safely, my dear," Tyra said, waving to Sianna and Valo as they left the cryptarch to continue her work.

* * *

"Hey, Sianna!" Hawthorne's voice called out from somewhere above her. She stood on a second-story balcony of the barn that gave an overlooking view of the courtyard as well as the landing field beyond a small creek. She was beckoning to Sianna with a wave of her hand.

"I wanna talk to you; there's a staircase right around the corner from the barn entrance that you can use."

Sianna found the stairs right where she said it would be and trotted up to the reluctant camp leader. Suraya Hawthorne was surveying the throngs of people who had come to call the Farm home with a hesitant look. Sianna fully observed the woman for the first time since they met. A gentle breeze caught the edges of the blue and red poncho she wore, pressing the side of its hood against her smooth face. Her sharp brown eyes scanned each area below like the bird of prey that sat on his perch next to her. Hawthorne let out a short sigh.

"This is -hoo- a lot of civilization. For me, at least. Course, I've been living outside of the City half my life. So. Huh."

Hawthorne absentmindedly stroked a few of Louis' tawny feathers while she gazed, then turned back to Sianna.

"Anyway, heard you want to go poke around that busted-up hunk of the Traveler. You Guardians have a weird idea of a good time," she chuckled.

Sianna smiled in spite of herself and gave Hawthorne a slight nod. Suraya shrugged.

"Ah, well. Louis and I know plenty about trusting your gut. So I'm not about to stop you. I got enough to deal with here," she jabbed a finger behind her toward the field in the distance, where a collection of jumpships had been landed.

"Take that ship you flew here. At least it'll get you back faster."

"Thank you, Hawthorne," Valo said, expressing the gratitude from both himself and his Guardian. Hawthorne's mouth twisted to the side as she faced the Farm's thoroughfare again. An air of rumination hung over the camp leader. It appeared to Sianna that she had more to say. After a moment, Suraya pointed down to the groups of people who had begun to thin out in the twilight sun. Sianna followed her example and looked as well.

"See all those refugees? I haven't lost one yet," she said grimly, fixing Sianna with her sharp eyes. "Don't you be my first."

Valo, who had been occupying his usual spot above Sianna's shoulder, moved closer to Hawthorne. "We'll be okay, Hawthorne. Right, Sianna?"

Sianna met Hawthorne's gaze and nodded, hoping that this would assure the woman not to worry. It must have worked, to some extent, as the shadow that seemed to come over her dissipated. A worker from within the barn called for Suraya's attention. She excused herself, raising her hand in farewell and departing down the stairs to answer the call.

Sianna looked out over the landscape beyond the ships, observing the clouds of smoke that rose from the shard in the distance. The glow of the setting sun reflected off of its surface, coloring it a fiery orange that reminded Sianna of her last view of the City from the mountain ledge. An unwelcome yawn worked its way out of her chest. Valo returned to his place beside Sianna. She swore he was giving her a look, despite not having a face.

"I know you want to go as soon as possible, Sianna. But let's rest while we can. We don't know what the path to the Shard will be like."

Sianna sighed. "Okay. We leave at sunrise, though," she whispered.

Valo figured this was the best he could get from her. He agreed to her terms and followed her as she left Hawthorne's balcony. The sun was beginning to dip below the trees that lined the far edge of a massive lake, slowly bringing the Farm into dusk. The children who had been terrorizing the chickens were now called into the house shelter by parents, while workers loitered around fires, waiting for the night shift to relieve them. Small lanterns were lit, one by one, in strategic areas to give light to those who would be continuing work into the night.

Sianna looked around, still not keen on entering the house. She preferred a more secluded area to rest and thought the wooded above the farmhouse would offer her just that. When she had finally climbed the small rock formation and found herself at the beginning of the forest, it was almost full dark. Valo's eye shone a thin beam of light to guide them as Sianna searched for a good place to settle. At the edge of the ridge was an open patch of grass under a canopy of leaves.

"This looks like a good spot," Valo said, scanning the area for any potential danger. Sianna wanted to point out that they were in full view of the Farm and would likely not run into any trouble, but she merely plopped herself onto the grass and rolled onto her back with a long sigh. Above her, hundreds of stars could be seen in between the shifting leaves of the trees, making them appear more like the blinking lights of ships. The grass beside her was tamped down by a bundle as Valo brought out blankets for her use. His eye illuminated her face briefly.

She had already fallen asleep, one arm tucked under her head and the other draped across her midsection. Clutched in her hand was her old, ruined bond. It had been given to her by Kat-3 and Aden as a sort of 'resurrection day' gift, a few months before the Red Legion attacked. Even when she found newer pieces of armor in her travels, she kept the treasured bond. It must have been hard for her to replace it. Almost as though she was forced to accept the likelihood that something could have happened to the Titan and Hunter.

He could feel how keenly she missed them both. Besides himself, they were her closest friends… the nearest thing she had to a family in this new life. Valo settled himself in the warm crook under her bent arm, positioned so that he was also gazing up into the sky above.

He hoped, for all of their sakes, that the vision was not just an illusion leading them to their doom.


	9. Spark

**"Spark"**

When the sun was just barely peeking above the mountains and bathing the world in its light, Suraya Hawthorne watched Sianna and Valo cut a path in the morning dew, heading to the field that served as the jumpship landing zone. They did not appear to notice her as she stood on the barn's balcony. She chose not to make herself known, allowing them the chance to leave under relative cover. Soon, she could barely see the Guardian, much less the Ghost.

"I'm heartily surprised that you did not try to convince her to stay," said a voice behind her. His distinct accent revealed to Hawthorne who was speaking before she saw the man. Without taking her eyes off of the horizon where the duo had disappeared, she answered

"I wanted to, Devrim, believe me. But something told me that I wouldn't have been able to change her mind, even if I tried."

A ship's engines sputtered to life in the distance. Hawthorne and Devrim watched the vessel rise from the field and take off in the direction of the Shard. Hawthorne sighed.

"I plan on keeping tabs on them, but that's all I can do. We just have to hope that there's something more to this 'vision' that they were talking about."

"Hope is something we are rather short on, as of late."

"Don't remind me, Dev."

* * *

"You sure you want to do this? That shard is why this place is called a 'Dead Zone'," Hawthorne asked after she had been connected to the pair's communications network. They had just arrived at Quarantine Sector 236, the nearest area to the Shard that Sianna and Valo could land.

They appeared out of transmat on a stretch of broken and long-abandoned road leading to what was left of a large metal wall that once may have been part of a Golden Age complex. The Shard of the Traveler towered over the dilapidated walls, casting a shadow on everything beneath it.

"We have to, Hawthorne. It's a sign," Valo answered.

Hawthorne scoffed. "Yeah. A sign that says _'Dead Zone'_."

Sianna began her trek to the wall, trying to keep her focus on watching and listening for any signs of enemies. In any other circumstance, she would have been happy to be exploring this rather uncharted part of Earth. But without her Light, so near to the darkness that hung close to the Shard, what excitement she would have felt was suffocated by tension. Her goal was not the wall or whatever buildings were connected to it – her goal was to get to the Shard and return, alive.

Hawthorne's voice chimed into her helmet.

"You know, I've been all over the EDZ. Charming enough. I mean, nothing says 'come visit' like a dark, haunted forest."

"But non-Guardians aren't supposed to leave the City!" chided Valo.

"Here's the thing about City rules – they stop applying once you leave the City."

Valo could not argue with that, so he remained silent for the time being, as he and Sianna approached what they thought would be the entrance to the other side of the wall. The whole area was, somehow, blocked up by fallen debris and juxtaposed vehicles.

"Ah, Hawthorne? How do we get through to the other side?" Valo asked.

"There's a small gap in the wall. Hard to see, but it's there. Nobody goes farther than that. At least, nobody who wants to come back."

"_Thanks for the vote of confidence…"_ Sianna thought as she examined the blocked area before her.

Sianna crouched down, peering under the car bumpers to see that there was an opening, just like Hawthorne said. It was just large enough for her to crawl through with little trouble. When she was able to straighten up, she found herself on the interior of the wall. A few feet away and around a pile of moss-covered stone was another small opening in the old wall. A cold wind blew in from the hole. She had to crouch beneath a rusted I-beam to finally make it out of the wall interior and out to the other side.

Before Sianna was a scene much different than where she came from. Where there was lush yellow-green flora that danced on breezes only yards away, there was now barren trunks of blackened bark and sparse patches of brown stalks that could have once been called grass. It looked like the life had been sucked out of the world, making the ruins of humanity's past around it bleaker.

"I see what Hawthorne meant, now. This was all the Shard's doing?" uttered Valo.

"Hard to believe, isn't it? That something once so great could cause this much damage? I don't know what you two expect to find out there, but I hope it helps."

The road that continued on this side of the wall was even less intact, as it crumbled into pieces over a small chasm created long ago. Sianna jumped the gap, landing in front of a dark tunnel that was far from inviting. Mist hung thick in the air within. For a brief moment, Sianna did not want to continue. The darkness was almost too overpowering. She lingered in the wide opening, weighing the option of not continuing any further. She thought of the City and the Tower, in flames and ruin, and of the frightened faces on the civilians she had seen being escorted by Lord Shaxx. Sianna took a deep breath and resolved herself. She always fought for the sake of those in the Last City; she did not believe she could call herself a Guardian if she turned away now, without trying.

Slowly, she moved into the tunnel, the shotgun that Hawthorne gave her in hand. Her steps echoed in the old structure. A shaft of light glowed at the end of the tunnel, revealing an entrance into an underground, not-so-man-made passage. With every step further, the piece of sunlight that showed her the opening faded behind them. Valo appeared next to Sianna, shining the light from his eye into the underground area so that they could get their bearings.

"Let me know when you've-" Hawthorne's voice dissolved into white noise.

"Hawthorne? Hawthorne! Can you hear us?" Valo called out. "Signal's dead. I have a lock on the Shard, though. I'll still be able to lead us there."

Once again, she and Valo were alone. The cave system that they found themselves in was immense. Sianna wondered who had created it. The air within was damp and musty, permeated with the occasional smell of muddy earth that was kicked up by Sianna's boots. After a few minutes of careful progress, the passageway widened into a cavern filled with stalactites and stalagmites, all dripping with water flowing from an unseen source. Beneath them, a clear pool of water rippled with droplets from the ceiling. Sianna stopped in her tracks when the noise of the drips and drops were disrupted by more forceful splashes.

"Did you hear something?" Valo whispered, pulling close to Sianna.

They jumped down into the shallow pool of water. If there was something else in the cavern, Sianna could not let it get to her first. Thanks to a light near the top of the cavern, put there by things unknown, there was enough light to see around the area without Valo's help. On the other side of the water, the causes of the noise revealed themselves. Four armed creatures, hooded and carrying short swords appeared out of cloaking.

"It's the Fallen!"

Valo disappeared and Sianna began firing at the Fallen Marauders that were advancing on her. They were quick, but the group was small in number and she was able to dispatch them quickly with the help of Hawthorne's shotgun. When the area was clear, Valo scanned one of the bodies.

"Those Fallen weren't wearing any house colors we've seen before," he noted after returning to Sianna.

Sianna had gleaned bits and pieces of history about these bug-like enemies. From those snippets of overheard stories and data gathered from disbanded camps, she learned that the Fallen were once a race known as the Eliksni. Like humanity, the Eliksni were visited by the Traveler on their homeworld, far out in the universe. They were gifted with their own Golden Age, and they suffered their own Collapse. The Traveler had apparently left them for other worlds, and the scattered Eliksni followed – eventually finding their way to Earth.

They were angry that the Traveler had chosen a new world… and angrier now that the great machine was apparently broken and inert. Here, they were not the Eliksni – they had become the Fallen. They were scavengers and pirates, picking through the remains of Earth after the Collapse. Eventually, they grew segmented into different 'houses' around Earth. Their campaign to decimate what was left of humanity and reclaim the Traveler lasted hundreds of years, only to be beaten back when the Guardians stepped into their role as protectors.

Sianna herself helped end the reign of the House of Devils that had taken residence in the Cosmodrome, where she had been found by Valo. Many other Houses would fall not long after, making them less of a threat than they had been for ages. For there to be Fallen under a new banner meant that humanity may encounter even more problems, beyond the Cabal's capture of the Last City.

Sianna hoisted herself up onto a low ledge on the edge of the pool of water, silently continuing her - probably foolish – mission to the Shard. The tunneled section of the cavern continued for another dozen yards before expanding out, once again. This time; however, Sianna and Valo found themselves within what appeared to be an old underground structure. A strange fungus grew from the ground and along the sides of the passage, shimmering a purplish-blue that, strangely, did not cast a glow around the odd vegetation.

Valo investigated the fungus. "This stuff is giving off strange readings… there's darkness, but also Light?"

She peered down at the growth, studying it from behind the protection of her armor. Outwardly, it did not appear malevolent. But Sianna noticed that the light which glowed within the fungus appeared trapped on the inside of the dark edges. Waiting. Wanting to escape. Its existence reminded Sianna of something that the Speaker would say. She could not think of his exact words... There was too much else on her mind, and ultimately, the flash of remembrance faded.

They followed this anomaly along the rest of the passage until it emptied into a crumbling building. Like most of the places left behind from humanity's past, this location was little more than a shell of its former self. Moss and ivy-covered nearly every wooden surface that was still present, and trees had grown straight through the floors. It was the most green that Sianna and Valo had seen since emerging on this side of the wall. Dim light filtered in from blown-out windows that revealed an opaque and murky scene beyond the empty panes. The fungus they saw in the tunnel continued into the building and stood out among the greenery surrounding it.

"We should be getting closer. Somewhere outside of this building," said Valo.

He highlighted an area above her, on the other side of a flight of mostly intact stairs. When she made it to his marking, she found that much of the wall that would have been present was completely gone. Sianna exited the old building through the long-missing section of its exterior, coming into full view of the Shard. It was only a small portion of the larger part that continued casting a dark shadow over where Sianna stood.

"The Shard of the Traveler. This is it, right out of our vision…" Valo whispered, in awe, despite the rumors that had been told about it.

Now that she was closer, she could begin making out details on the piece. Its outer shell was a smooth white that matched the rest of the Traveler in the City, with fringes of black spires that extended like hair from behind the cracked white surface. Inside of a large gash on the front of the shell, something glowed and crackled with the same purple-blue color of the fungus they had seen before.

A forest of long-dead and barren trees stretched to the visible edge of the Shard. Their brittle tops were the only parts that stuck out above the mist that swirled across the ground. She could barely see the earth beneath the fog. Sianna thought it was very likely that their path from here on would not be an easy one, if the fight with the Fallen before was any indication. But she was already so close now. The only way to know the truth behind the vision was to get to the Shard – or die trying.

The section of building that once covered the place where Sianna stood was no longer, giving way to ruin and only leaving her with one way down to the forest floor. Luckily, a few planks of flooring still remained on the level below, allowing her to jump down to the forest floor easily. Here, the fog mixed with smoke from small fires along the path. Just as she began to wonder where these fires originated, the source revealed itself.

A crashed ship jutted out from the ground in a clearing nearby to Sianna. It still burned from fires within the ship's interior, spilling more smoke into the air around it. As she approached the broken vessel, she heard the chittering noises of Fallen. She readied her weapon, glancing around the area. Five Dregs, the lowest level of the Fallen's ranks, crawled from a hole a few feet in front of Sianna. They let out cries before opening fire on the intruding Guardian.

Sianna braced herself for the first few shots, choosing to take the damage from them and give herself more time for firing her own weapon. The booming rounds of the shotgun blew two of the Dregs away. Seeing this, the remaining enemies turned tail, arms thrown over their heads as they made a hasty retreat. She knew that they would be back for more, though, and quickly reloaded her shotgun as she pursued the Dregs to the other side of the ship. Valo took this chance to heal the wounds she intentionally took.

The rallying call that was sent out earlier was answered when another group of Dregs merged with those that ran away. Sianna dodged their shots by a hair's breadth by hiding behind a dislodged piece of the ship hull. She switched to a rifle that Valo had found stashed away on the ship they arrived in, then emerged from her cover to pepper the Fallen that were coming too close. She counted five, then ten, and upward of fifteen enemies down before Valo announced that, finally, the coast was clear.

"We should get moving," urged Valo. "This whole area is probably infested, and it won't be long until it's discovered that we are here."

Sianna nodded her agreeance and made a break for the path that was cut beyond the crashed ship. More enemies dotted the path, taking shots at Sianna and forcing her to duck behind rocks to wait for her chance to strike. Crouched there among the grass and decaying leaves, Sianna spotted more of the anomalous fungus from before, curving around the other side of the boulder and extending beyond the Fallen that were up ahead.

"_We've been seeing this stuff ever since we got close to the Shard,"_ Sianna's thoughts were interrupted by a smattering of arc-charged bullets glancing off of the stone next to her. She stepped out from behind her cover and fired directly at the Dregs who had appeared from their own hiding space. Now that she was aware of the bright pods of fungus, she could see clearly the meandering trail that was being accented ahead, disappearing into the forest as the form of the Shard loomed higher and higher overhead.

"_Something has been leading us this whole time…hasn't it?_"

Sianna tightened her grip on the rifle in her hand. She had been led this far on more abstract things. She was not going to ignore another message. They ran once again, following the clumps that grew along the path's edge until the forest opened into a clearing. Sianna stopped just short of entering, noticing that standing between her and their destination was a small patrol of Fallen. From what she could see, there was only a handful of Dregs accompanied by two Captains. The Dregs chittered at each other while their Captains meandered around the area, keeping a watchful eye around the perimeter.

Luckily, she and Valo had not been seen by the group yet. Sianna had ducked behind the trunk of a withering tree, studying the clearing. If she could take them by surprise, that might give her the upper hand. Charging in there would probably spell disaster for the pair. After a few careful minutes, Sianna found that the Captains had retreated to a corner farthest away from hers and Valo's position, giving her a prime opportunity to rush the unsuspecting Dregs. She checked the ammo in her weapons and took one last long breath before darting forward and opening fire on the enemies.

Her decision to wait for the Captains to move farther away proved to be a wise one; Sianna had easily taken down the group of Dregs before having to deal with the remaining two, intensely angry, Fallen coming from the back corner of the clearing. As they approached, Sianna had just enough time to switch back to her shotgun. To her surprise, the Captain's shields fell quickly, leaving them vulnerable to the rest of her attack.

When the final Captain was eliminated, an eerie silence descended upon the clearing. Sianna reloaded her weapons, listening intently for any sound that would indicate another wave of Fallen. She could hear nothing but the rustle of her gloves over the smooth metal of the guns.

"I think we… scared them away," Valo breathed. "Take me to the Shard."

Sianna put away her weapon and extended her hand, summoning Valo so that he hovered just above her palm. Together they approached a section of the Shard that was exposed to the clearing. This particular area appeared to line up with the purple gash that could be seen from the gutted warehouse. Up close, the tear in the shell was much more complex, showing varying hues of black, purple, and blue that flashed with sparks of electricity. It surrounded a small intact space of white shell that was slowly crumbling from time.

Valo broke away from Sianna and flew close to a small crack that had begun in the center of the white that remained. It shimmered with a faint light, purer and brighter than the lightning which flickered around them. Sianna watched Valo study it, his own shell shaking gently as he hovered in the air.

"This is why we were led here. I haven't been this close to the Traveler's Light since…" he paused, then asked

"Do you feel it?"

In fact, Sianna could feel something. Though she was not sure what she felt, exactly. A sensation like pressure hung heavily in the air around them. Sianna held her breath as Valo turned to face her. The light behind him began to shine even brighter, expanding the crack until it was larger than the size of the Ghost it silhouetted.

"Hold on to your helmet."

She watched as Valo's shell opened, pulling in the Light that was wafting out of the crack and braced herself for what would be coming next. A beam of swirling light shot from the center of his shell. It struck her in the chest, lifting her off of the ground with its power. Sianna could feel the Light flowing through her body. It was warm and radiant, and it chased whatever worries she held away as it encompassed her. Valo, too, was surrounded by specks of Light and he left a trail of them as he circled his Guardian. The Light within Sianna flashed out with a brilliant shine, releasing her so that she dropped back down to the ground. She took deep, long breaths of air, feeling renewed and invigorated. Valo laughed triumphantly while he continued to circle around her, cartwheeling his shell as he moved.

"Do you feel it? The Light is back! _We're_ back!"

Sianna flexed her hands open and closed, testing the feeling of the returned Light. Now that the resurrection was over, she noticed something. It felt… different, somehow. It was not altogether foreign, but different enough to make her wonder. Not only that, she realized the return of her power had made her senses heightened once again, and the fog of uncertainty that had accompanied her to this very moment was gone. Next to Sianna, Valo shook a few flecks of light off of his freshly repaired shell before returning to his usual place above her shoulder.

"Eyes up, Guardian," he instructed. She drew herself up to her full height, focusing on the rush of relief that came with having the Light back.

Sianna did not have to wait long to test her new connection to this Light. The cries of more enemies began to echo in the space where she stood – Fallen coming to see who would answer for this trespassing upon their piece of the Traveler. They came in groups of three and five, all shouting outrages in their native tongue when they saw Sianna standing before the Shard. A voice spoke within her.

_**Wield the Dawn. Spread your wings and set the sky ablaze.**_

On instinct, she called upon the full well of Light within her, summoning her power as though she never lost the connection to it. A circle of fire surrounded her feet and spiraled around her body, pulling her upward in a vortex of heated air. Wings of orange flame formed at her back and flames flickered off of the edges of her robes. In her hand she grasped a burning sword, shining with the warmth of the sun. It was just like the sword that Sianna had seen in her vision with the Shard.

Some of the braver Fallen below took shots at her hovering form. Sianna lifted the sword above her head and slashed the air in front of her, sending forth a spinning disc of flame down upon the group. When it made contact with the small gathering that stood in its path, the disc exploded, alighting the area with fire and burning all those who stood too close to it. The Fallen unlucky enough to be in the direct blast were immediately incinerated, while the others scattered, hoping to outrun the same fate. Using the wings to direct herself in the air, Sianna followed those who ran, slinging more discs at anyone who stood in her way.

After six or seven swings of the blade, Sianna could feel the time to use her renewed power coming to an end. She drifted down and landed on a small outcropping of rock just as the wings and sword dissipated. It would take some time to recharge that ability under normal circumstances; as it turned out, though, these were not normal circumstances.

"Sianna, look over there!" Valo indicated to another rock formation across from them, where a thin tree glowing with light now stood. "I think that the Shard is trying to give us more power. Let's check it out."

The Fallen, seeing that she was no longer wreathed with fire, took their opportunity. The Guardian made a break for the tree, sliding into the halo of light that it was giving off. In the instant that she made contact with the area around the tree, Sianna's energy began to increase until it was full. And just like that, she was in the air again. When her ability ran out, she simply went to the next nearest gleaming tree, filled herself with Light, then proceeded to fight back the seemingly endless throngs of Fallen that were appearing.

"Is that all you've got?!" taunted Valo. He may have been tucked away, as per his protocol when Sianna entered into battle, but that apparently would not keep him from taking jabs this time. Perhaps he, like his Guardian, had become emboldened by the return of his gift.

Something rumbled the ground under Sianna's boots. It was subtle, at first, and intensified with every heartbeat. From the other side of the clearing, the source of the quaking appeared. The leader of this not-so-merry band of scavengers had arrived. What Sianna could only assume were cheers and jeers from the leader's underlings rose in noise level around her as it approached. Valo, in between healing Sianna and making taunts, had been parsing out information exchanged through the Fallen's local communication network, resulting in a name for the new threat.

_Skriviks, The Sharp-Eyed_ was taller than your average Fallen Captain, and just as decorated. He – or she, Sianna never ventured to ask how anyone could tell – was armored in cobbled together scrap metal laced with old leather and cloth of an unknown source. A thin cloak attached to a fur mantle on its shoulder bore similar markings to those Valo noted earlier on the Marauders. On the other shoulder, supported by all four of the creature's arms, was a very large scorch cannon. Sianna realized that the rumbling she felt was not caused by the trudging feet of Skriviks, but by the devastating rounds of the scorch cannon used to eliminate anything in its path. Unfortunately, this included any of the remaining Fallen who were not quick enough to get out of the way and were blasted back as Skriviks made a trail of destruction leading to the Shard, and to the ones who woke it.

Sianna was undeterred, despite the fact that a typical scorch cannon could easily wipe her out. If she was hit by this, it was going to leave a mark. Skriviks roared in anger and positioned the weapon directly at Sianna. She jumped away, activating her ability midair and brandishing the sword aloft. The round of the scorch cannon landed where she had been previously standing, igniting the area with an explosion from which Sianna just barely rose out of reach. She drifted along the edge of the clearing to outrun another shot from the scorch cannon before retaliating. Sianna swung her sword back and forth in front of her, sending flaming orange discs in rapid succession down upon her target. Skriviks was unable to escape, trapped in the endless barrage of explosions, and within moments, was nothing more than embers. The smaller Fallen turned tail at the sight of their leader being reduced to ash by Sianna's power. On all the limbs that could carry them, they fled into shadowed holes and caves, shielding themselves from her scorching Light.

"Looks like they won't be bothering us for a while," Valo reappeared beside Sianna as she returned to the ground and the last wisps of flames dissipated from off of her robes. "That sword… it was new, wasn't it?"

She nodded an affirmative 'yes'. "It's called _Dawnblade_," she paused, then added, "It feels… different."

Valo circled around her. Sianna's eyes followed his shell, knowing that the Ghost was giving her a full scan.

"Well, everything looks normal. Maybe it will just take some getting used to. Why don't we head back to the Farm? I bet Hawthorne will be glad to see us."

"I missed your optimism, big guy," Sianna said, smiling. "Let's go."

"We'll take the short way back to the ship, then. Before anyone else comes along and starts shooting at us."

* * *

Hawthorne tried her best to not appear agitated as she gazed out toward the Shard of the Traveler in the distance. It had been several hours since she lost contact with Sianna and Valo, and Hawthorne was facing the growing probability that the pair had met with some terrible fate. She had almost given up entirely when the sound of engines made her check the field one final time. It could be anyone, she reasoned. But something told her to keep looking, just in case.

Someone was approaching from the landing zone. A smile crept across Hawthorne's face when she recognized a blue-haired Guardian and her little Ghost flitting around her figure. It was a moment that Hawthorne would recall later, when the scars of war would be just beginning to heal.

"_Maybe it had been a long time since I had truly seen a Guardian, but when she came back from the place where no one else returned… I gotta say, Dev. Even I was inspired."_

* * *

A.N. - Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I did not intend for my hiatus to go this long, but I finally finished this chapter, so I can stop looking at it and move ahead. A big thank you for the follows and favorites that I've gotten, despite my long radio silence. It is so very appreciated. Hopefully, the next part won't take as long to write! Stay safe during this crazy, crazy time, Guardians. -LAS


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